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Ahok's blasphemy case becomes most popular issue in 2016: Survey
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Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama rides a bicycle in an open space in Kalijodo, a neighborhood formerly know for prostitution, which was demolished by the city administration several months ago. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)
T
he blasphemy case against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama was the most common issue discussed on social media in 2016, including on Facebook and Twitter, a survey revealed on Thursday.
The study recorded that there were more than 279 million entries about Ahok's blasphemy case on Google and as many as 5,730 articles about the Jakarta governor's case written up in the news, becoming viral on Facebook for more than three months and trending on Twitter 25 times.
"It is more popular than any other issue on social media in 2016," Digitroops chief executive officer Fahd Pahdepie said during the release of the survey in Jakarta on Thursday.
(Read also: Pro-Muslim programs cannot free Ahok from blasphemy charges: Prosecutors)
Fahd said the blasphemy case attracted wide public attention in Indonesia because it involved religious sentiments and was taking place at the same time as the Jakarta gubernatorial election.
Ahok was named a blasphemy suspect after he was videotaped mentioning a Quranic verse. The recording went viral after being abridged and posted on Facebook with misleading commentary. (dan)
